East Timor autonomy plan akin to HK system: Dewi

JAKARTA (JP): The government's offer on East Timor's autonomy bears similarities to the deal worked out by Britain and China for Hong Kong, a senior palace official said on Saturday.

Dewi Fortuna Anwar, President B.J. Habibie's advisor on foreign affairs, said the latest draft provided East Timor with its own political parties and legislative council, while its administration would be led by a governor in the capacity of a chief executive.

"Its system will be similar to Hong Kong's style," Dewi said in an interview with The Jakarta Post.

When the British government returned Hong Kong to China in 1997 after 156 years of colonial rule, Beijing granted special administrative status to the territory, now led by chief executive Tung Chee-hwa.

In line with China's pledge to have "one country, two systems", Hong Kong is allowed to continue its own system of law and its own currency separate from the yuan.

She said East Timor's administration would be called the Administrative Council of the Special Autonomous Region (Dewan Pemerintahan Daerah Otonomi Khusus). The central government would be in charge of foreign affairs, defense and security, the judiciary and currency systems.

Freedom

The province will have its own police force and the freedom to manage its own natural resources, Dewi said.

"The central government will subsidize its budget until it is able to finance its own budget," she said.

People will be permitted to establish their own political parties. A separate general election will be held in the area to elect members of the legislative council.

Dewi said East Timor would enjoy much greater autonomy compared to the other 26 provinces, which also would gain greater autonomy under the regional autonomy plan.

"The special autonomy for East Timor is in line with international understanding on autonomy," she said.

Dewi said Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas would present the government's final autonomy proposal during his two-day meeting with Portuguese counterpart Jaime Gama in New York. The meeting, under the auspices of United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, is scheduled on April 21.

She denied reports Indonesia requested delaying the ministerial meeting, but said the country only suggested a postponement or cancellation of the senior officials meeting of the two countries prior to the ministerial meeting.

Draft

"As we are still finalizing the revision of the autonomy draft, therefore we want to delay the senior officials meeting and directly go to the ministerial meeting," Dewi said.

If Portugal agrees to the Indonesian proposal, the UN will lead a two-month familiarization its content with the East Timorese. It will be followed by a direct ballot on the proposal in July.

Indonesia also hopes the UN will lead the direct ballot. The government has insisted it would agree to the presence of international observers, but not military observers, to supervise the balloting process.

Habibie has repeatedly stated that Indonesia will allow East Timor to become an independent state if the people vote to reject the proposal.

Meanwhile, the UN special representative for East Timor, Jamsheed Marker, warned on Friday that the ballot would only be held if there was a security assurance from all sides in the area.

"Clearly it is not possible to hold these consultations in an atmosphere charged with fighting, that has to stop. And that's a prerequisite," Marker was quoted as saying by AFP.

Portugal has started campaigning for the presence of a UN peacekeeping force in East Timor.

Foreign minister Jaime Gama said in Luxembourg the Indonesian military was not able to restore security.

"East Timor needs world attention and the presence of a UN peacekeeping force," Gama said. (prb)